F.P. Journe

either a piece of Octa RDM or Octa Automatique Reserve, until I personally handled the watches today. They are indeed very comfortable to wear, aesthetically pleasing, but both pieces at the AD clearly presented the date issue still exists, even on 40mm automatique reserve supposedly with new movement I heard? In the date window, the right digit is almost always not aligned with the left, either being too high mostly, or sometimes too low. I'm baffled that such flawed pieces are still allowed to be circulated amongst the ADs and not recalled by or returned to FPJ. The showcasing creates publicity alright; a negative one that is. Unless of course this forms part of the brand's artistic design, which is not easy to appreciate! I walked out of the AD disappointed... Just sharing my experience.

to do with the date wheels sticking?

There is an AD here in NYC and I have over the years observed many others there and on the arms of fellow Journe enthusiasts, and never noticed this problem.  How far out of alignment were your two examples ?

on Octa Automatique Reserve than on Octa RDM.  I'm not sure the issue is caused by wheel sticking or lubricants though.  Some illustrations below on what I observed... 

While I've seen this happen on occasion if the watch hasn't been worn for a while, and you use the quick date adjustment, the two numerals usually re-align themselves after the watch has been running for a day or two.

for the insight! The AD sales person changed the date from about 12 to 24 using quick date adjustment and almost none of them were aligned. Like you said the watch probably needs to "run in" for 2 to 3 days, and hopefully it will eventually fix the problem itself. Sounds like a watch for risk taker! Do you or anyone aware if FPJ timepieces are certified chronometer by COSC? Would such certification cover date accuracy as well? Just wondering if that would be useful for FPJ. Cheers!

I'd be concerned if a watch needed certification for date accuracy! While the digits might be slightly mis-aligned, the date itself is still correct.

As to whether FPJ submits his watches for certification, I don't think he does. I believe the Chronometre Souverain follows stricter standards than COSC already.

I had the same problem on a Girard Perregaux Richeville Big Date in yellow gold.  The issue drove me nuts, and I eventually sold the watch.

 

 

Other pic

 

It can be frustrating on the problem you described.  It's normal that people will set high expectations base on the brand name and premium price tag.  Anything less than perfect will be hard to accept.  Glad you found a way out of your problem in the end . 

Cheers!